"Letters" Challenge Unveiled

Our annual holiday potluck was held on Dec. 17th at Deb's, and after a great meal, we exchanged fabric postcards.  This year we added Put a bird on it to the holiday theme of our cards:

Our holiday fabric postcards.

 A few members were unable to attend the gathering, including Torrie (a huge snowstorm kept her on the other side of the mountains), but she sent a photo of her postcard:

Torrie's postcard

 Before unveiling the "Letters" challenge quilts, Chris showed a really cool gift she made for her daughter, a cover for her e-reader:

Chris's e-reader cover.

Inside the e-reader cover.

And the challenge quilts . . .

"64 by 64"  -- Torrie

 In 1964, Torrie began corresponding with a penpal in Australia, which has developed into a lifelong friendship that's continued to this day.  They've even met in person twice!  This quilt is a testament to that correspondence; the blue in the center represents the ocean that separates them.

"DNA" -- Chris

"Egg" -- Nancy

(title to be added) -- Deb

"Love" -- Patty

"Madrona"  -- Erika

"Postcard for my Family" (in progress)  -- Maureen

Detail of  Maureen's "Postcard"

"The Signal and the Noise" -- Deb

"Too Much Noise and Not Enough Transparency" -- Deb

Lisa's "Plork!?" (the sound raindrops make when they hit the ground)

My "Blue Secrets" (not yet quilted)

Another challenge with varied and interesting interpretations of the theme.  That part's always a thrill to me.  What will we do next?  Stay tuned to find out!

"Letters" challenge deadline approaches

A week from tomorrow is our annual holiday potluck/meeting.  We're having it at Deb's again because it was so much fun last year (and she didn't mind hosting again this year!).  We'll each show our finished pieces for the current "Letters" challenge and much of it will be a surprise.   Interestingly, it seems that there's been much less previewing of our work in progress this time than there was with past challenges.

Soon after the "Letters" theme was suggested as our next challenge, I had the idea of secret writing.  I was also playing around with some encaustic wax projects and wanted to incorporate that  into this challenge

Here is the encaustic bit that I'll add to my "Letters" piece:

Layers of writing on watercolor paper, dipped into encaustic wax.

Previously, we've shared our challenge quilts throughout their construction.  Some members were simply excited to show what they'd done so far, while others sought specific design feedback (Do the colors flow?  Does the quilt have enough contrast?  Does it keep the viewer's eye moving through the piece?)  One of the beautiful things about our group is the willingness of members to share their knowledge and their generosity in offering valuable suggestions in a completely noncompetitive manner. We've created a very supportive environment where members feel safe enough to show work that may they feel less than confident about.  Unfailingly, someone will speak up about the elements of that design that do work, and others chime in with thoughtful ideas and suggestions, sharing even their favorite tips and tricks.  Such encouragement is like a shot of confidence for the recipient.

So it seems that we're all growing more confident and have less need to get feedback while our challenge pieces are in progress.  I'm excited about that.  I've often thought it would be more exciting if our challenge deadlines were actually unveilings where we'd see each others' quilts for the first time.

That being said, I realize I'd have even less reasons for posting on this blog if I didn't show my work in progress (or my design dilemmas, and of course there have been plenty this time, as always). 

A section I've pieced, including rust-dyed silk (left), deconstructed
screenprinting (blue spirals),  and a Thermofax screenprint (lower middle in blue).

Hand-dyed silk; 3 needlefelted pieces incorporating hand-dyed cheesecloth,
rust-dyed silk, wool and silk rovings.

Still much to do to get this finished by next week.  The ideas continue to flow, so I'll keep working on it until it feels like enough!

Deb's quilt accepted into Road to California Show!

Fiberexplorations member Deb Sorem recently learned that her quilt Grandmother's Secret Flower Garden was accepted into the juried Road to California Quilters' Conference & Showcase "The Best in the West."  The show runs from Jan. 24-27, 2013 in Ontario, Cal.

Gwen, Cora, and Harper in "Grandmother's Secret Flower Garden" by Deb Sorem.

"I took my granddaughters' names and worked them into kaleidoscopes," Deb said.  "The traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden pattern was a favorite of mine, and my mother made one for me as a wedding present.  I repeated the shape of the hexagons in this contemporary version." 

You can see the pieced hexagons in the blue sky background above

Detail.

This ingenious design could have easily worked as Deb's entry for our current "Letters" challenge, but I think she's done something entirely different for the challenge!  Here's one more detail shot of her quilt:

Detail.

Deb's granddaughters' names are Cora, Gwen, and Harper.  I think I've successfully deciphered each girl's name in its corresponding flower.  If you want to give it a try, click on the first photo to enlarge it.  (Hint:  each flower blossom spells out one of the girls' names in both its normal orientation and in reverse image.)

My "answer"  to the puzzle (and I sure hope it's correct!):  Clockwise from the top left, the three names are in the order given in the  first photo caption above.